Characteristics of Milkfish Bangus or Bandeng

Characteristics
of milkfish with the scientific name chanos chanos is an essential seafood
product especially in Southeast Asia. Milkfish is generally small with silvery
body and covered with thin scales plus toothless mouth and fork-like tail. The
fish can grow up to 1.8 m although milkfish sold in markets mostly cannot reach
1 m in length. Since milk fish does not have teeth, they often feed on
invertebrates and algae. Moreover, as one of the oldest farmed fish species in
Asia (especially in Indonesia and Philippines), the fish is suitable to be
farmed inside inland pond or caged out in the ocean.

About
characteristics of milkfish

Milkfish is popular as bony fish with
numerous small bones and they have white flesh with mild flavor and thus the
fish is suitable for wide variety of cooking dishes or recipes. Milkfish is
usually pan fried since this method can show the taste better. The fish can
also being baked, grilled, and broiled. They are famously made into soup, stew
as well as serve with steamed rice, vegetables, and many more.

Characteristic of
milkfish as large herring fish is that they like to
swim in large school both in sub-tropical and tropical water. Milkfish is often
called bangus in Philippines and bandeng in Indonesia, both are the major
producers of milk fish that produce, export, and distribute milk fish seafoodproducts. The fish has silver body color on the side and belly part with
spindle-like shape which smooth, flat, and streamlined while on the back the
fish has olive green or blue color.

The fish is farmed since 800 years ago
meaning that the fish is already distributed as human food centuries ago.
Indonesia and Philippines are the first countries that use milkfish as the main
farm fishing material. Every year, there are tons of milk fish bangus or
bandeng caught either wild or harvested from farm fishing. That’s why milk fish
remain as one of the most important commercial fish species in Southeast Asia.
The milkfish usually sold not more than 2 ponds weight, they are produced as
whole round fish, steaks, canned, and milkfish fillets.

Milkfish has soft flesh and widely consumed
by people in Southeast Asia. This characteristic of
milkfish benefits make the fish extremely popular for every homemade
dish. However, since the fish has many small bones, they need to be removed
unless you are okay to remove the bones while eating. Deboning milk fish bones
is quite challenging since some parts of the bones are difficult to be seen and
hard to be removed. Even experts who already have skill to debone fish bones
need to spend about twenty minutes for each fish. Alternatively, manufacturers
cook the fish with pressure cooker to soften the bones until it is edible to be
eaten.

Despite the bony
characteristic of milkfish, the bangus is still popular among
homeowners. And do not forget that bangus milk fish is rich in protein and
omega 3 fatty acids oil content. Nowadays, the use of milk fish start to reach
United States widely especially in Asian dish which herbs and spices are used
to compensate the mild flavor of the milkfish. Meanwhile, the meats also can be
used raw as sashimi, fish balls, and fish cakes.

Handling milkfish
seafood products

This is some information regarding how to
handle the milkfish:

-If you purchase milkfish frozen
product, they need to be stored properly at or below 0°F (-18°C). Before use
the frozen fish, you should defrost it with thawing process.

-Frozen product usually can last
about 18 months. Proper thawing process is to store the fish in refrigerator
overnight and use it later the next morning.

-Whole fish need to be headed
and gutted first before you freeze the fish so they won’t spoilage quickly.
Even if you want to use the fish immediately, you should heading and remove the
guts properly.

-Upon the thawing process, you
need to use the fish within 2 days. This is also valid for fresh hgt whole
round milk fish.

Milkfish is a farmed fish with beneficial
nutrition and this is the most important characteristics
of milkfish. Overall, it is recommended to eat milk fish for 2 to 3
servings each week with moderate amount to get healthy nutrients intake.